Water is well understood to be absolutely necessary for supporting all forms of life. It has been further understood that its unique properties have led to Its uses for many purposes. These properties include its thermodynamic properties, its powerful solvating characteristics, its electrical properties.
As the properties of water have been discovered and understood, mankind has developed new and improved uses for this ubiquitous compound.
The water molecule is very polar, resulting from its composition of two hydrogen atoms bound by exchange force to the oxygen atom.
Interaction between molecules results from hydrogen bonding in which a hydrogen ion from one molecule is attracted to an oxygen ion of another molecule. The interaction is further modified by van der Waal forces in which each ion of a molecule induces a modification of the dipole moment of a neighboring molecule.
These interactions confer the recently discovered property of clustering on the structure of “liquid water”. According to these investigations, normal water generally exists as clusters of water molecules. A cluster in typical water is about thirteen microns diameter but can vary, depending on treatment of the water.
Variations of rheological properties of water have been attributed to variations in the size of the water clusters. Control of cluster size would be expected to have practical significance especially in medical situations where surface tension, as it relates to permeability, is significant.
Hydronium ions. (H3O+) are known to exist in acid solutions such as HCL where the concentration of H3O+ ions are balanced by an equal concentration of (e.g.,) Cl− ions.
Oxonium ions (OH−) are known to exist in “base” solutions such as NaOH where the concentration of OH− ions are balanced by an equal concentration of Na+ ions.
In many processes involving acids and bases, the accumulation of anions in acidic reactions and cations in basic reaction, generate an environment that must be ‘cleaned up” after the compounds have served their respective purposes.
In recent years, it has been discovered that hydronium ions can be generated in otherwise pure water (called “acid” water) without the presence of anions. Similarly, it has been discovered that oxonium ions can be generated in otherwise pure water (called herein “base” water).
Acid water and base water are produced by electrolysis. The electrolysis apparatus comprises a filter positioned between a platinum cathode and platinum anode in a container of water
The “Acid water” has a high oxidation potential compared to an acid solution of an acid such as hydrochloric acid having the same pH. For example, an “acid water” solution having a pH of 4.0 has an oxidation potential of 500 mv. whereas a mineral acid solution, HCL, having the same pH has an oxidation potential of only 250 mv.
The “Base water” produced by electrolysis, has a large reduction potential compared to a base solution having the same pH. For example, a base such as sodium hydroxide having pH=9 has a reduction potential of about −250 mv whereas “base water” produced by electrolysis and having a pH=9.0 has a reduction potential of about −500 mv.
Base water and acid water produced by electrolysis have useful properties in their own right. A major advantage of these “ionized waters” in their respective applications is that the hydronium ion and oxonium ions exist in water that is pure.
For example, acid water is a powerful antiseptic. Yet it is not corrosive to human flesh when the applied acid water has a pH that is low enough to kill bacteria. In comparison, mineral acids having the same pH is highly corrosive to human flesh due to the presence of the Cl− ion.
Base water is a powerful antioxidant. Drinking base water for the purpose of reducing acidosis does not lead to the undesirable effect of excessive accumulation of the cation (for example Na or Mg).
A problem with acid water and base water in their respective applications is that they have a shelf life of only a few hours.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,571,336 and 5,830,838 have disclosed chemical processes for generating very stable acid water and base water by chemical processes. These two patents are incorporated herein by reference.
A systematic theoretical investigation of hydrated structure and thermos-chemical properties of hydrated protons is disclosed by Yang So Kim et al (Journal of Chemical Physics, Aug. 26, 2002. the lifetime of these hydrated proton clusters is hypothesized to be of the order of nanoseconds.
Three hydrations of the H3O+ ion are hypothesized, according to which:                a H3O+ with a single water of hydration is H5O2+;        a H3O+ ion with two waters of hydration has a chemical configuration of H7O3+;        a H3O+ ion with three waters of hydration has the chemical configuration H9O4+.        
The paper predicts two distinct molecular configurations for H9O4+.
One configuration is a first solution cage (hydration cage) arranged in C3 symmetry.
The second configuration is a hydrogen ion with the hydrogen bonded between two water molecules and the remaining two water molecules attached to opposite sides of the two centered water molecules. This arrangement gives a horizontal saw tooth pattern.
“Hydrogen Bonding” by Vinogradov and Linnel. pp 216-217, 1971 presents a theoretical model of the hydrated proton in an aqueous solution. The structure of H9O4+ is disclosed. A second hydration shell (H1507) is also disclosed. They hypothesize that the symmetrical distribution of the excess positive charge among the three protons in the primary hydration of H+ enables the formation of a very stable H bond with neighboring water molecules (FIGS. 8-11). This secondary hydration results in H9O4+ complexes whose proton possesses a very high mobility within the molecular complex. They predict that the mean period of association of a proton with a given water molecule is 10−12 seconds.
It is apparent that a method for producing a form of water having increased molecular weight would have useful application in processes where water is a key ingredient, particularly in electrolytic, medical and energy producing processes.